Magic of the Night
by Storm Notorious
Summary: What I imagine Erik would be like, going to Hogwarts with the Golden Trio. Any reviews would be a great help.
1. Chapter 1

Erik Claudin was not an ordinary boy, even in the wizarding world. Yes, he was a wizard, a half-blood to be precise. For one, his mother despised him, and he was forced to live in a cramped, windowless attic. As for the second reason... Erik felt around on the mask for the latch, and opened it. He looked in the mirror and there it was, in all its depraved glory. Sunken eyes, stretched yellowish skin, a few wisps of hair…he even had no nose. He was commonly referred to as a corpse by his mother, and was told he smelled like one too. He traced a gloved hand over his deformed face. It hurt, that was true, but he had long since adjusted to the pain. The bathroom door opened with a bang and his hand immediately shot out for the mask, hastily pressing it to his face. It was his mother. "Hide that disgusting thing you call a face and come downstairs, boy. You have a visitor."

Erik was astonished. He never had visitors, or any human contact at all for that matter, except his delightful excuse of a mother. He had tried to play with the other children in the neighborhood before, and that had ended badly for him. He felt excited. "From Hogwarts?" Even him, being the sheltered child he was, had heard of Hogwarts. The best wizarding school in Europe, possibly even the world. She curled her lip. She seemed to dislike him being happy. "Obviously. Put on your mask properly." He rushed down the stairs, his mask barely on. Inside, he was a tangled ball of nerves. What happened if they didn't like him? Hopefully he'd still be able to attend. He fiddled with his mask on the last few steps, making sure it was secure, then stepped into the room.


	2. Chapter 2

The man was so odd, Erik just stood there for a moment, marveling at his appearance. He was wearing a flamboyant purple robe, stars studded here and there. He looked quite old, and had a pair of half-moon spectacles perched on his crooked nose, which look like it had been broken. If he was intrigued by Erik's mask, his face stayed the same. "Good morning. I am Albus Dumbledore, headmaster of Hogwarts." He pulled himself up to his feet and held out his hand. Erik's throat was a little dry. What was he supposed to do? "Umm…" He chuckled. "Have you never had a handshake before?" "A what?" His face turned stony, and he turned to face Mother. "Madeline, has this boy never had a handshake before?!" "Humph. If you had seen his face, you would understand." With that, she slinked out of the room. A silence filled the room. "I can sing, and play the piano." Erik wasn't sure why he was defending his mother, Madeline, as he just found out. "A handshake is what friends do to greet each other, if they have not seen each other for a certain period of time." "Friends…" Erik knew it meant people who shared certain activities together and enjoyed the shared company. "Yes." He extended his hand again. I shook it, and I knew from that moment forward, Dumbledore was my first friend.

Erik swung his feet nervously, sitting on the rickety fence surrounding his house. The paint was peeling off, but it looked fine otherwise. After explaining a little about magic to Madeline, Dumbledore had told him to pack my belongings (which consisted of a battered violin, a few ragged clothes, and his music sheets.), as Erik would no longer be staying there. Dumbledore was visible through the kitchen window, apparently in an argument with Erik's mother. She stalked out of the kitchen, leaving the headmaster looking slightly angry. "Is that everything you are bringing?" Erik fell off the fence. Dumbledore had suddenly appeared behind him when moments ago, he was in the kitchen. "HOW DID YOU DO THAT?!" He looked amused. "I apologize for frightening you. But to answer your question Claudin, that was Apparition, a form of magical transportation." His alarm was replaced by curiosity. "Can any magician-sorry, wizard- do that?" He twitched his wand and Erik's music sheets tidied themselves. "With sufficient training, it is possible. Though death can occur through Splinching, when body parts are left at both locations." "Hmm." Erik was still staring at the music sheets which were floating in midair. They hovered toward his hand, and he took them. "Come, we must depart. Hold on to my arm." Erik obliged, and the world disappeared.

They reappeared on a dingy street. Erik staggered away from Dumbledore, vomiting in the gutter. "_Evanesco_. Are you all right?" Erik stood up shakily. "I'm never Apparating again." Dumbledore laughed. "The feeling does lessen with time." He looked around. "Where are we, Professor?" "A place where a friend of mine lives. And hopefully, where you will live soon." He saw a sign. It read 'Spinner's End.'

**AN: Bam! Guess you didn't expect that. Erik is going to drive Snape nuts. Review oridestroytheworldandimightputinanOCofyoursifyoure view.**


	3. Chapter 3

"Spinner's End? An odd name for this place." It made Erik think of spiders. He always found them interesting. "Muggles are funny little things." He stepped over what looked like a dead cat. "Sir? You keep on using that phrase. What does it mean?" He looked over his shoulder as they headed down the street. "Muggles are non-magical people. Ah, here we are." They arrived at a house indistinguishable from the others. He knocked once on the door. "What do you need Albus?" A sallow, greasy-haired man opened the door. He looked more like an assassin then a child raiser. He caught sight of Erik and grimaced. "No." He closed the door, but Dumbledore flicked his hand and the door flew open with a bang. "Severus, please consider this." He snarled. "Have the welp taken in by his relatives. Isn't that what you did with Harr-" "Severus!" He stopped at once. "I'll double your pay." "I want it tripled." Dumbledore didn't flicker an eyelid. "Consider it done." "Fine." He opened the door wider. "Well!" Suddenly, Dumbledore was a lot more cheerful. "That settles things. Erik, Severus, shake hands." Erik stuck out his hand stiffly. He shook it, and from the almost imperceptible widening of his eyes, I knew he was mentally recoiling from the feeling of my corpse-like hand, which was gloved. "I must be off to the Ministry to finalize things." There was a slight pop, and he disappeared. Severus curled his lip. "Come." He stalked inside not unlike a panther. _He would have gotten along with Madeline quite well, _Erik thought sourly. With a feeling like he was stepping into a doomed path, Erik stepped into the lion's lair.

It was a tiny, dim-light sitting room. Bookcases covered all four walls. From here Erik could see several titles, such as _Moste Potente Potions, One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi, A Guide to Advanced Transfiguration, _and something called _Magick Moste Evile._ Severus saw where he was looking. He waved his wand, and all the bookshelves were inverted. "Sit down." It was not a request, but an order. Erik sat down. "My name is Severus Snape. I am the Potions Master at Hogwarts. And so, you shall address me as 'Professor' or 'Sir'. Understand?" His black eyes seemed to be boring into Erik's mind. "Understand…_sir._" He curled his lip, but didn't comment on it. "Good. Your room, for now, is the attic." He rose from his seat and indicated with a flick of his hand that Erik was to follow. He waved his wand and one of the bookshelves moved, revealing a secret passageway. Erik couldn't help but marvel. He had always been fascinated with hidden paths of any sort. Snape apparently could sense his enthusiasm. "Hogwarts is full of them," He mentioned as they passed a room filled with several bubbling cauldrons, "You will encounter many more impressive than that simple bit of magic." Erik felt a little insulted at the comment. "Excuse me for being locked in an attic for 11 years, the most impressive I could find lead to the basement." Snape turned around in a flash. "You were what?" He questioned sharply. "I-I lived most of my life in my attic, sir. I wasn't allowed outside." "Not even once?" He had a strange expression on his face. Erik frowned. Was something wrong? "I did go outside once, but the neighborhood children threw rocks at me and killed my dog." Snape looked a little solemn. "I see." He said slowly. "Follow me." Instead of going up to the attic, he lead Erik to a room overlooking Spinner's End. The room was light and airy, but he didn't care about that. All Erik cared about was the large black piano in the corner of the room. He walked straight towards it, dumping his things on the floor. He sat down at it, and lost himself in its beautiful melodies.

Snape struggled to keep all emotion off his face. This boy was a genius! Snape had never seen such talent before, and he had attended several shows at the Palais Garnier. "How many lessons have you had?" he enquired. Erik answered somewhat distractedly. "None. I also play the violin, the flute, and the clarinet. I am self-taught." "Amazing..." Snape had never seen anything like this. If his skill with musical mastery extended to his schoolwork, he could very well end up as the next Dumbledore. Erik looked up. "I write my own music, would you like to hear some?"

He was definitely going to be in Ravenclaw.

Taking his silence as a yes, Erik riffed through his scores in search of a fitting one. He found it, and began to play, and sing. Snape was in awe. It was impossible for a boy to acquire such musical skill naturally. Magic had to be involved. The boy didn't notice when Snape walked out of the room. He immediately went to his studies and started writing a letter to Dumbledore.

**A/N: So! First of all, I'd like to apologize to my one follower, AResidentGhost, for the extra-long break between updating chapters. Been busy with schoolwork, and other stuff. I'll try and get another chapter up this weekend. To everyone else, please read, follow, review, take over the world, or some other fifth thing.**


	4. Chapter 4

It was quite a warm summers' night at Hogwarts. Dumbledore had already used a Cooling Charm twice this hour. There was a knock on the door, and his eyes flickered upwards from the provisions report he was reading. "Enter." Severus Snape stalked in, looking quite agitated. "Severus," He said, rising up. "Is something the matter with Erik?" He looked deranged. "What kind of power have you given him?!" he spat out like it was venom. Dumbledore frowned. "He has not experienced any magical sensation, except for Apparition. Was there a problem with his magic?" "Look at this?!" He shoved a mass of papers onto Dumbledore's desk, upsetting Fawkes's perch. He squawked angrily and came to rest on a bookshelf. "What is this?" He enquired, picking up one of the papers. It appeared to be a building plan for a castle. "Is this his? He seems to be highly skilled in drawing, but I do not see how this is a problem." Severus jabbed a finger at the edge of the paper. "This!" In somewhat childish handwriting, as if they learnt from copying books, was a few scrawled words.

_Claudin Castle, 1994. Original sketch._

Dumbledore held it up closer, as if he could find some proof that it was another's. "Astonishing…He was making architectural plans at the age of four?" The few portraits that were still pretending to be asleep were awake, their eyes darting back and forth between Severus and Dumbledore as if they were playing Quidditch. Severus was gripping the edge of the desk very hard. "That is not all, Albus. His voice…has some strange power to it, it hypnotizes people." He looked up sharply. "Hypnotize? How?" Severus was pacing now. "When he started to sing, it felt like the Imperius Curse, only a thousand times stronger." The portraits were steadily rising in volume. Dumbledore raised a hand, and it was instantly silent. "What was it making you do?" Severus's eyes flickered downward for a second. "That is not the point!" Dumbledore sat down, lost in thought. "Hmm…That is troubling. It is possible, given the state of his home life, that his accidental magic manifested itself in the form of his music…But magic does not work that way. He look back at Severus. "Is there anything else worth of reporting?" "Why does he wear that infernal black mask?" Dumbledore mulled it over for a few moments. "I believe he has a facial deformity of some sorts. However, I am not certain." Severus nodded, and without another word, he took back the papers and left. Dumbledore sighed and pulled out a message from his pile of paperwork. He squinted.

What in the world was the Mirror of Erised?

Erik fiddled around with his mask, making sure it was covering his face fully. "Hurry up, I haven't got all day." Snape's voice said, though it was slightly muffled through the door. They were going to Diagon Alley, to get Erik's school supplies. He tugged on his black gloves, made sure his skin was completely covered. Erik then opened the door to see Snape glaring at him. "Are you done yet, young sir?" he enquired sarcastically. He glared back. "No need to call me sir, _sir_." Snape turned on his heel and stomped downstairs. Erik followed, with a smile on his lips. It had been a week since he left home. Despite a problem with a nasty Swelling potion, he liked it here. Snape, picking up the small pot on the mantelpiece, handed it to Erik. "You're going to be quite warm in that. Diagon Alley is 30 degrees." "I am well aware of that. However, this is needed." Inside was Floo powder. Snape had told him about the substance yesterday, when they were discussing his school supplies. Taking a pinch of powder, he threw it in the fire, the flames immediately turning green. Erik turned to Snape. "So I just step in?" "Yes." He narrowed his eyes. "How do I know this isn't some fancy trick to get rid of me?" Snape glared at him. "Do I seem powerful enough to anger Dumbledore?" "He's old, how powerful can he be?" Snape walked into the fire. "See? As far as I can tell, I'm not burning up." He stepped out. "And to answer your other question…the lifespan for a wizard or witch is immensely longer than a muggle's. For example, I know a perfectly healthy wizard who is seven hundred and fifty-five years of age." Erik imagined living past everyone on the planet. "Interesting…" Erik stepped into the fire. It felt warm, but not as warm as a fire would normally be. "Diagon Alley?"

Immediately the world began to spin, a different fireplace flashing by with every spin. The spinning started to lessen , and Erik hurtled out of the fireplace and into a crowded pub, falling on his face. He got to his feet and stood up shakily. A small _pop_ occurred and Snape was beside him, steering him through the crowd with a hand on his shoulder. A few wizards murmured greetings to Snape, but he ignored them. They came out into a small backyard, with a few dusty barrels and a high, well-made brick wall. "This is the entrance to Diagon Alley. Remember the pattern closely, I will not be here to hold your hand next time." He pulled out his wand and tapped a brick a few up from the trash can. Nothing happened. "Umm..is tha-" The bricks flew out, creating a large archway. Over the archway, silver letters spelt _Diagon Alley_.


End file.
